EPA Carbon Pollution Hearing Thursday,May 241h2012 Testimony- Allison Chin

Good morning. My name is Allison Chin and I amthe President ofthe Sierra Club's National Board ofDirectors. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today about why the Sierra Club strongly supportsthe EPA'srecently proposed carbon pollution standards for new power plants. These standards are an important and historic step toward addressing what I believe to be one ofthe greatest and most daunting challenges ofourgeneration- global climate disruption.

Climate disruption- which scientists tell us is happening because ofever increasing amounts ofgreenhouse gases, such as carbon pollution, being emitted into our air- represents a threat
notjustto polar bears and other Arctic dwellers, but to communities and ecosystems nationwide. Scientists and doctors warn us that as the Earth warms, unhealthy levels ofozone pollution, or smog, will increase and become more widespread. Higher smog levels will mean

more cases ofrespiratory illnesses, such as childhood asthma and lung disease. Already, according to the AmericanLungAssociation, !54 million Americans- roughly halfour country! -sufferfrom air pollution levels that are unsafe. Holding dirty plants accountable for the carbon pollutionthey emit into our communities means fewer sick children and suffering loved ones, while also preserving for future generations the wild places and biodiversity that make our country great. By taking this stepto address industrial carbon pollution from power plants, the Administration is setting the stage for a shift in how we power our society. Ifwe

are to growoureconomy and shift into a 

### 21st century renewable model for energy production.

we must modernize our infrastructure and diversifY our sources. Many states are already leading the charge to transition to cleanenergy. Forexample, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Iowa and North Dakotanowreceive 20% oftheir energy from wind power and 38 states have utility scale wind installations.

As we think about what kind ofworld we want to live in and leave for future generations, and what policies and laws we will enact regarding the future ofenergy production. it would seem like a no-brainerthat we would want to consistently strive for more efficiency and less waste,

a transition to cleaner fuels that do not pollute our air and sully our water, and incentivize industry modernization and innovation to provide good, cleanjobs for the next generation of workers. Yet, unfortunately, what we have seen is a handful ofcorporate polluters and their well-funded lobbyists on the Hill attemptto speak for the entire energy community in opposing these commonsense steps forward on grounds no firmer than that they simply do not wish to clean up their pollution, to be held accountable for their emissions and damages inflictedon the communitiesthey serve. Americans see right through these attemptsto paint the EPAas the boogeyman, and poll after poll demonstrates they support implementation of the CleanAirAct and letting the EPA do itsjobto protect public health and ensure a cleaner future for us all. We should not let a vocal minority ofbackward-thinking, profit driven corporate polluters derail standardsthat will have tremendous benefits for ourchildren, families and all Americans who value clean air and wild places.
Again,the Sierra Club strongly supports EPA'seffortsto clean up dangerous carbon pollution and we strongly supportthis rule. Thank you.